[fleshka]

i was pretty impressed. the phone has everything. only issue is it is windows mobile but i hear this one isnt so bad. but the features and plethora of tools really blows the blackberry curve away. esp since RIM can't release software upgrades and seem to lag in technology. anyone else seen this phone?

[vortec7]

Blows the curve away???

I've checked it out and only see minor bonuses to the TILT over the curve?
Video, 3mp camera, 3g network,
Touchscreen (not sure if thats a pro or con)
Am i missing anything?

However, it's still windows mobile. The call quality blows hard! Pull email sucks for the battery.
Oh, and it looks exactly like the sliding phones that came out over 3 years ago. Bleh!
I'm having flashbacks of my TMO MDA already!!!

I try to be openminded but I've yet to test out a phone that "blows the curve away" especially since the curve was voted #1 smartphone of the year.

[smooth10]

Better than the Curve??? BLASPHEMY! (Definitely my biased opinion )
But vortec7 does make a great point... voted #1 on the list, not many can dispute that

[CybaCowboy]

Originally Posted by fleshka

only issue is it is windows mobile but i hear this one isnt so bad.

Microsoft Windows Mobile is actually pretty good, especially the latest version, Windows Mobile: Professional 6...

Personally I can't see what people complain about - for me, I found Windows Mobile: Professional 6 to be (mostly) reliable and stable.

Sure, it may LOOK like Microsoft Vista, but that's where the similarities end!

My only real complaints are that it takes to many taps to perform various functions (whilst it's not perfect, my BlackBerry addresses this somewhat) and the usage times are generally pretty poor in Windows Mobile devices (ESPECIALLY in comparison to BlackBerry devices)...

Originally Posted by vortec7

I've checked it out and only see minor bonuses to the TILT over the curve?
Video, 3mp camera, 3g network,
Touchscreen (not sure if thats a pro or con)
Am i missing anything?

* Microsoft Office Mobile, which offers (roughly) 80-85% of the functionality that their desktop counterparts offer - current BlackBerry devices offer NO document management software out-of-the-box and I am yet to be convinced that the upcoming DocumentsToGo will change this (especially if you stick with the free version)!
* Cheaper and simpler initial setup for enterprise e-mail solutions
* Microsoft Internet Explorer Mobile is pathetic, however the third-party Opera Mobile (yes, you have to buy it seperately...) well-and-truly puts both the BlackBerry Browser AND the free Opera Mini browser to shame!
* Microsoft Windows Media Player for Windows Mobile - whilst it's far from perfect, it is by far better than the current media player offered by RIM...
* Out-of-the-box YouTube Mobile compatibility
* Native support for Adobe Flash Player in both Internet Explorer Mobile AND Opera Mobile
* A third-party software catalog that BlackBerry devices could only dream of - at a guess, the amount of software available for Windows Mobile would be in the high hundred thousands

Originally Posted by vortec7

The call quality blows hard! Pull email sucks for the battery.

You're right - Windows Mobile ISN'T without it's faults, but you're wrong on the audio quality - this depends almost entirely on the components (speaker, etc...) that the manufacturer selects...

In favour of BlackBerrys, be aware that:
* Microsoft's "DirectPush" technology, which is their equivalent of RIM's BlackBerry Enterprise Solution (BES), uses significantly more power than a BES
* Whilst on paper DirectPush is technically similar, RIM's BES still comes out on top for security and reliability; this is backed-up by 10+ years of experience in "push" technologies, and the sole reason why BlackBerry devices are the e-mail solution of choice for businesses and Governments the world over...
* Whilst there's not MUCH difference, BlackBerry OS is slightly more reliable than Windows Mobile
* Out-of-the-box, BlackBerry OS as an operating system, is a LOT more secure than Windows Mobile
* With only one or two minor exceptions, there have been no "mobile" viruses, however if "mobile" viruses WERE to become commonplace, you could safetly bet that Windows Mobile would be most at risk.
* BlackBerry devices are almost always smaller than Windows Mobile devices, and their usage times are at least double that of Windows Mobile devices - in some cases, they offer usage times that are 5 or 6 times longer!
* BlackBerry devices have one of the lowest return rates on the market (ie. How often their faulty), ahead of ANY Windows Mobile device (though this may or may not change when Sony Ericsson launch their Windows Mobile products in the near future)
* BlackBerry service plans are often "unlimited" for Internet and e-mail - few service providers offer this for Windows Mobile devices.
* BlackBerry devices are easier to configure, with regards to both e-mail AND connectivity settings

I'm sure I could think of a lot more in favour or against each one, but most of the important ones are covered above...

[Virex]

wow gracias cyba-cylapedia

[chokem]

its nice to have a device that other companies are aspiring to copy and emmulate. all the other manufacturers are trying, they just cant seem to get there. we read on here all the time about comparing this to BB or that to BB, but still no other phone can combine the quality, features and ease of operation of a Blackberry, especially in my opinion of the 83xx series.

[CybaCowboy]

Originally Posted by Virex

wow gracias cyba-cylapedia

Well hopefully I helped - whilst I have a long history of using Windows CE/Windows Mobile-based devices and am still somewhat favoured towards them, I try to maintain a neutral stance on which is better...

At the end of the day, neither is perfect and both are better at something than their competitor.

The trick is to be able to identify what is important to you in a mobile device, then pick the one that does it better...

Despite what some of you guys may say (and this goes for the Windows Mobile, Apple iPhone and Symbian OS fanboys too), BlackBerry OS isn't "just better" because as I said above, there is ALWAYS something that the competition does better - it may be one thing or it may be a hundred things, but the competition will ALWAYS have SOMETHING they can do better!

The iPhone may be better with Web browsing and multimedia, Windows Mobile with out-of-the-box document management, BlackBerry with security... And so forth.

Originally Posted by chokem

its nice to have a device that other companies are aspiring to copy and emmulate. all the other manufacturers are trying, they just cant seem to get there. we read on here all the time about comparing this to BB or that to BB, but still no other phone can combine the quality, features and ease of operation of a Blackberry

Well as I've said countless times before, the BlackBerry may not do as much as some of the other devices out there (particularly Windows Mobile devices), but what it DOES do, it does near-perfect in most cases (I say "in most cases" because I don't believe they've quite nailed a few things yet, such as multimedia and Internet browsing)...

I've also made it clear many a time in the past that whilst I still stand by Windows Mobile, I firmly believe that it is a jack-of-all-trades, but a master-of-none.


~via my BlackBerry Curve 8300 (wap.pinstack.com)~

[Virex]

its nice to have a device that other companies are aspiring to copy and emmulate.

IMO blackberry's are to the cell phone world as iPod's are to the mp3 world.

[CybaCowboy]

I would've said e-mail personally...

When I think mobile phone, I think a classic Ericsson (no, not Sony Ericsson!) Or Motorola - when I think e-mail though, I think BlackBerry or AOL.


~via my BlackBerry Curve 8300 (wap.pinstack.com)~

[chokem]

Originally Posted by CybaCowboy

I've also made it clear many a time in the past that whilst I still stand by Windows Mobile, I firmly believe that it is a jack-of-all-trades, but a master-of-none.


~via my BlackBerry Curve 8300 (wap.pinstack.com)~

very good point Cyba. Im not saying that BB is perfect, but would you not agree that all things taken into account that its still the best device, as a whole, out there?

[Virex]

I would've said e-mail personally...

yea i guess i meant both email/cell/smart phone.

[CybaCowboy]

Originally Posted by chokem

but would you not agree that all things taken into account that its still the best device, as a whole, out there?

I'm not gonna single-out ANY particular phone or make of phone as being "the best", but I will tell you one thing - if there's a brand I trust, it's Research in Motion (RIM - the manufacturers of BlackBerry devices).

Whether it's security, service reliability or build-quality, I firmly believe that with a BlackBerry device, I have little (if anything) to worry about...

Remember, unlike it's competitors and even with all the recent outages, RIM still boasts a WHOPPING 99.8% uptime ("uptime" is when everything is working fine, and there are no service issues) - VERY few companies in ANY industry are able to even MATCH that, let alone BEAT it!

Like it or not, I firmly believe that this is something Microsoft could only ever dream of, and I sincerely doubt that we will ever see this sort of reliability out of Microsoft in the foreseeable future...


~via my BlackBerry Curve 8300 (wap.pinstack.com)~

[Virex]

well thats bc microsoft is such a conglomerate that they have too much tech out on the market right now and it would be almost impossible to keep an uptime all those devices and software. now RIM on the otherhand, they are still relatively young in this field and have a lot of expandability in the future, so i think thats why they can focus all their assets and maintain those kind of numbers when it comes to uptime

[CybaCowboy]

Originally Posted by Virex

now RIM on the otherhand, they are still relatively young in this field and have a lot of expandability in the future, so i think thats why they can focus all their assets and maintain those kind of numbers when it comes to uptime

Despite what you may think, RIM has been around for a LONG, LONG time and have a LOT more customers than Microsoft...

RIM have been offering "push" solutions for AT LEAST 6 or 7 years (if not longer), whilst Microsoft only started offering similar solutions recently - furthermore, it has only been in the last 18 months that Windows Mobile's security was FINALLY lifted to a "Government standard" - RIM has been offering such levels of security to Governments and enterprises around the world for YEARS (in many respects, RIM is still years ahead of Microsoft with regards to certain security features that are supported on BlackBerry devices)!

In addition to this, RIM have even more experience from when they were still offering pagers - many of these (some of which are still available to corporate and Government clients) utilized "push" technologies, which was where the idea for BlackBerrys came from!

In a nutshell, you would be wrong to underestimate the size and scale or RIM's "push" solutions, as well as the amount of experience RIM has with such solutions overs Microsoft...


~via my BlackBerry Curve 8300 (wap.pinstack.com)~

[chokem]

well said Cyba, good post